ParappaXSunny: Courtship Commencement
by AquaRock
Summary: How ParappaXSunny was born. This is not a oneshot, by the way. I'll continue this later NOTE: This is set after Parappa 2 and before the start of Infamy
1. Chapter 1

All that could be heard was a cricket noise in the night and Parappa's labored breathing. He lay in his bed, clad in his pink plaid nightclothes. It was eleven-thirty at night, and yet, he was having difficulty sleeping. The one thing that was on his mind was Sunny Funny, her cherubic face and visually-pleasing figure plaguing his thoughts. He had known her for about ten years now, and from day one, he started having feelings of affection towards her.

Of course, he didn't do anything too big to express his love towards Sunny yet, with his live shows with King Kong Mushi being possible exceptions. He didn't want to rush anything in a potential relationship with her. He had many an opportunity to proclaim his love toward her one on one, but he felt doubtful about if they would be successful. During the last decade, he has had his share of mistakes, shortcomings and even doubts of him having any chances with Sunny. And yet, he kept a positive outlook on her and a potential future with her. He seemed to do that with an innumerable amount of aspects.

_"Well, I know one thing. I may only have one shot to win Sunny's heart, one way or another. And if I'm going to take this opportunity, then I'll need to do it the next chance I get. I do believe that Sunny is having a music album release party and invited the whole gang on Friday. But, I want to do this privately and in real life. I don't want to do that 'will you go out with me via text' bullcrap. Sunny is much more deserving than that. So, it's official. I will ask her out tomorrow."_

Simultaneously, he felt so nervous about doing this, and thought, _"Why didn't I ask her out earlier? We all graduated four months ago, and none of us decided to go to a college immediately. To my knowledge, nobody was planning on going to college anytime soon, so I can't use that excuse. Here we are living it up here in Parappa Town, all starting our music careers on the right foot. Sunny is the newest member of the musical niche, but nonetheless, she has begun. Her voice is wonderful, like audible silk that caresses my eardrums and cuddles with my mind. I'd listen to her voice all day if I could. I believe that her career will run smoothly. _

Then, he started to remember all the things that happened in the past involving his hopeful other half. He remembered the first game he was in, where the entire plot revolved around her. He learned martial arts, arts that would help him in The Infamy in the near future no less, learned how to drive, sold stuff in a shop, baked her a cake, and rapped his heart out with King Kong Mushi in a live performance with Sunny there. Then, there was the second game, where he experimented with de-noodlizers, signed up for the military, saved her from a psychotic-seeming hairdresser, defended the town against a noodle-crazy dictator, and rapped his heart out again for the love of his life. After two games of service for her, and the rest of Parappa Town, the rapdog noticed that Sunny became less and less serious personality-wise, which was possibly initially caused by her father serving in the military. She seemed to let go and have a little more fun with everyone whenever they were doing whatever. Whenever she talked to Parappa, whether she was alone with him or if friends were within earshot, she played with her petals in casualness. She laughed more when she was with him. She kept the usual cordial look in her eyes as she kept eye contact with him at all times when he spoke. All of these were changes present after the events in the second game. He hoped that with all he had done, it would at least give the impression that Parappa cared very much about her, and he yearned for reciprocated emotions towards him.

_"Okay, Parappa. Don't let the stress get to your head. You have a couple of hours to practice what to say. And, it's Sunny! There's no way I could pass up an opportunity like this! I'll text her to meet me at the park tomorrow and show her what I do."_

As Parappa made his resolution to ask Sunny out, he turned around on his bed and lay on his other side, jittering with enthusiasm and delight.

. . .

Parappa woke up to a song on the radio at eight that morning. It was Beyonce's Crazy In Love, of all songs. He sprang from his bed and did a little dance number in rhythm with the song. Then, he took his smartphone and opened up his texting app. _Wait, I want to call her this time. Her voice is something I need this morning. _So, he selected her name in his contacts and pressed the call button.

"Hello?" Sunny's friendly voice sounded.

"Hey Sunny! After waking up on this beautiful Wednesday morning, I had the idea of possibly meeting you in the park, and I wanted to see if you'd like to participate in a trivial pursuit with yours truly."

Sunny laughed at his newfound precocious vernacular. "Uh, sure, that's fine. I was only going to practice my songs for the release party, but I guess I have a little time to have some fun. How does nine sound?"

"That sounds great! I hope to see you there," Parappa replied. They ended the call and both parties got ready for their meeting.

. . .

Parappa drove to the park and entered the recreational site. He found Sunny standing around the wooden fence entrance, wearing not a dress this time, but instead, a white T-shirt and short shorts. For the first time in a while, she exposed her fairly plump thighs and a balanced upper body figure, with a very little bit of tummy and a modestly sized bust. Sunny never wore make up, and for the better, in Parappa's opinion. He was a firm believer in natural beauty. It was in the middle of the summer, so of course, she'd be wearing very warm clothes. Parappa was wearing his usual suit: orange beanie, sky blue shirt, baggy navy blue pants and red "M" shoes. _This is it, _he thought.

He walked to the entrance to meet Sunny. In the morning sun, Sunny's petals looked ten times as radiant than usual. Parappa was unable to breathe for two seconds.

Sunny looked at him and smiled. "Hey, Parappa!" He shook himself out of verbal stasis and responded, "Hello, Sunny."

"So, where should we go to hang out? I didn't bring anything, so..."

"You brought yourself, that was the only thing I could ask for today," Parappa acknowledged, attempting a smile. Sunny chuckled. The rapdog laughed with her. "Well, let's just go to that bench over there. It's in the shade, and it's a place to sit down."

"Okay."

They walked over to a bench between two trees and sat down, Sunny sitting so close to the canine that their legs were touching slightly. As soon as Parappa noticed this, he blushed a little. Sunny observed the blood rushing to his face and chuckled again. _Is she doing this intentionally?_ the rapdog thought. _She somehow goes from dresses to shirt and short shorts...I know it's in the middle of summer, but, even this seems a bit too casual for Sunny in a regular situation...Does she know that I want to date her?_

"I want to talk to you about something. Ever since we both started high school, I've, uh, discovered my passion toward your character. It was during our high school careers that I did many things just to see you satisfied, impressed, but most of all, _smiling._ I thought that I was just being foolish at the beginning, but after the second game, I realize that if I felt it was really foolish, I wouldn't have tried this hard to please you. At the end of both games, I made you smile, and when I witnessed this, I felt more accomplished than I ever felt."

Sunny's eyebrows raised a little. "Really? You went through all that nonsense just to make me smile? And in two games, no less? That's means a lot," Sunny said. She was sitting at Parappa's left. Parappa sat at the right arm of the bench. Sunny was looking directly at Parappa's head, while he tilted his head a little to the left horizontally so that her face was in his peripherals. He didn't want to fully show his blushing face to his crush.

"Yeah, it was all for you. Then, at the end of the second game, you told me that you liked me for who I was, not solely for what I did for you. You liked me for my personality, and I like you for yours, along with other reasons. And I endeavored to one-up Joe Chin in something,_anything,_ but he seemed to best me in virtually everything. He ran faster, could lift more weight, play sports better than I could, was richer than me, and seemed more articulate than me. Then I realized, I still had the passion of rapping, so I followed that. At first, I wasn't all that good at it. To be honest, PJ and I have an unreleased album made before the first game named I Scream, and it was the type of terrible that was laughable to both of us. But, nonetheless, I practiced my rapping day and night. Then, the two games came around. My rapping ability increased substantially because of the rap masters in the city. Finally, when time went on, I realized that it was true."

"What's true?" Sunny inquired, her voice showing curiosity and slight hopefulness. She leaned closer to Parappa. Parappa finally turned and looked her directly in the eye.

"That my efforts would never be in vain. I can't imagine anybody else that I'd want to date. Sunny," Parappa turned his upper body towards Sunny. She mirrored him, and both of their hearts raced. In moments like these, Parappa would become tongue-tied. But, this day was different. "Will you go out with me?"

Sunny gasped and nearly fainted. But, she still kept her composure. Instead of passing out in delight, she put her hand on the back of Parappa's. She slowly moved it up his arm until she reached his shoulder.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to say that, Parappa..." she began, beaming. Her petals radiated once again.

"So, yes?" the rapdog asked.

Sunny couldn't find the right thing to answer verbally, so she gave the canine a big embrace, wrapping her arms around his shoulder/neck area. Parappa jumped at the suddenness of Sunny hugging him, but he sure wouldn't reject it. He wrapped his arms around her sides. After about twenty seconds, Sunny moved away from him a bit, their chests not touching, but their hands still on each other.

"There are some things I wanted to tell you as well. It's a safe bet that I've had a crush on you for about the same amount of time as you did for me. But, the reason why I didn't say anything was that of my dad. He was very protective of my future, and didn't want me dating anyone until I got a stable job and my own house and everything. That was the rule ever since I first showed signs of liking guys. Now, I love my father and all, but sometimes he could get a bit too anxious in certain aspects of my life. And then came high school, where the hormones and peer pressure came in. Everybody, it seemed, found a lover in those four years. Every time homecoming came along, everyone was prepared for that, with a dress or a suit and a significant other. It was always my dream to go out to a homecoming or something like that with somebody that I felt that I could trust, could relate to, could _act the way I wanted _around them."

"You mean you couldn't have done that before?"

"Well, yes and no. See, my father emphasized formality and gender roles in the family. I, like my mom, was supposed to wear dresses every day, no matter what the weather, and I was expected to act what he viewed was ladylike. That's why, in the first game, when those two bullies were harassing me and Katy, I acted all so submissive, because I was afraid of what might happen if I didn't follow Dad's directives. I was expected to act completely polite to everyone I meet, and heaven knows that's hard with a Joe Chin always trying to get in your panties. To Dad, women weren't supposed to speak their minds that much, being quiet most of the time. I'm not saying that it's bad to be like that, but that just wasn't me. And, to be honest, I have been thinking about you more and more recently after the last game. I knew how charming and funny and friendly you were, and those were the sort of things I looked for in a guy. And last night, you were in my thoughts constantly. As I got ready to meet you this morning, I finally explained to my dad about what I really wanted to do and who I really was. I turned eighteen a few months ago, and I've been working a few odd jobs and did a few paid singing parts with MilkCan since before then, so I feel that I can make some more decisions for myself. He said that he could respect the fact that I wasn't exactly the girly girl he wanted me to be."

"Wow, it seems a bit harsh to have your dad force that on you initially. But at least he saw it from your perspective and accepted it," Parappa empathized.

"Yeah...I felt sure that I wanted to date you for a few years now, but I didn't know if you were really interested in me. I mean, in the games, I just thought that you were only trying to help me out like you would with anybody else in the group. But now I know."

"And knowing is half the battle," Parappa blurted.

"G.I. JOE!" a male bull said while jogging, finding the two lovers on the bench beside a sidewalk. Both Parappa and Sunny laughed at the perfection of the dialogue.

"But yeah, I had a feeling that you were the one. And now, I've received confirmation of that."

"So, we're boyfriend and girlfriend now?" he asked.

"I guess you could say that. But maybe this will speak more volumes," Sunny responded before leaning her body more toward Parappa. Just then, he felt her lips pressed against his in what felt like a long-awaited and exalted osculation. It was their first ever kiss on the lips with anyone, but to each other, they did everything right. Sunny put her hands on Parappa's neck and gently caressed the sides of it, while Parappa's hands were stroking Sunny's upper back. They puckered and brought back their lips and repeated at the same time, and their eyes closing made them focus on the feeling of the kiss.

After about a ten-second kiss, their mouths moved away from each other. They noticed that the other person was blushing like mad. They weren't embarrassed by what the other person thought anymore, but this moment right here, this time together with their crush, made the blood rush to their heads. It was an amazing thing happening between them.

"So, where are we headed for our first date?" Sunny asked, her hand on Parappa's chest.

"Uh, I don't know. But, I came here by my car, so maybe we could go cruising around town, if you'd like," Parappa suggested.

"Anywhere with you is a great place to be...boyfriend," Sunny answered, smiling. Parappa chuckled a little, causing Sunny to laugh with him. They laughed as they made their way to Parappa's car. For both of them, this was the beginning of a great day in their lives. Parappa overcame the fear of potential rejection and replaced that feeling of fear with a feeling of euphoria. Sunny felt nice to know that her father was going to accept her having a boyfriend and living more of an adult life. She would still live by her morals and standards and wouldn't want to move too fast in their relationship.

The canine and the flower looked at each other lovingly. Parappa extended his right hand and held her hand as they drove away from the park.


	2. Chapter 2

That day was quite an eventful day for the two newfound lovers. They toured the city, caught the new Jet Baby movie that came out on that day, conveniently, and took a romantic walk in the park they were just in. They would have walked longer, if it didn't start to rain.

It didn't just rain. It was POURING when they walked. They were on a bridge that went over a pond, talking about how both of them first got into music. They leaned on a railing, facing each other, and held hands when Sunny first felt a raindrop. A look of alarm appeared on her face. Parappa then asked, "What is it?" before feeling a raindrop as well. Then, it felt like a river harbored itself in the clouds when much rain cascaded in the town. Both Parappa and Sunny yelped as they dashed toward his car for shelter from the rain.

The raindrops led a full frontal assault on Parappa's windshield. It was difficult to see anything out of it. However, Parappa made silent thanks to the inventor of windshield wipers as he activated them and drove away.

"Man, you were booking to this car when we were in the park," Parappa commented.

"Of course. I hate the rain. You were booking too!" Sunny responded.

"Yeah, because, you know what they say about the smell of wet dog...But I thought that flowers liked the rain. How else would they get fed, other than sunlight?"

Sunny gave Parappa a playful "are you kidding me" with her eyes and gave a good-natured slap on his shoulder. Both of them chuckled.

"So, where should we go next?" Parappa requested.

"Well, it's raining, so that cuts off any outdoor activities. But, really, we've been to enough other places. Is it all right if I stayed a while at your place?"

Parappa's eyes bucked at the thought of that. It was at home where the two would be alone, doing whatever, without anybody else knowing..._Check yourself, Parappa. This relationship started today, and I've planned on an actual relationship, not a hook-up. So, nothing too risque...not today anyway._

"That's fine with me, even though I've no idea what to do in my crib. But anything we do is made better with you," Parappa complimented. Sunny grinned.

They pulled up to Parappa's one-story house. It was a simple house, having four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a fairly-sized living room. The outside was constructed with bricks and black tiles on the ceiling. Two windows were visible in the front side of the building. The white garage door was on the right of the front entrance.

Before they exited the car, Parappa offered Sunny his beanie. "This might protect your pate from the pouring precipitation. Perhaps," he said. Sunny giggled at the alliteration. Parappa's prediction proved plausible, as the beanie protected Sunny's dome from the rain quite effectively. Then, lightning struck nearby, followed by thunder booming across the sky. Parappa's fur raised at the sound of the startling stimulus.

They went in the house, Parappa quickly closing the door behind him. He didn't want the sound of thunder amplified by an ajar door. After wiping their feet on the rug beside the door, they immediately moved into the living room, turning on the lights around them. Sunny sat down in a loveseat and moved her hands to the vacant cushion beside her and patted it. Parappa soon followed.

"Let's see what's on TV," Sunny said, handing the remote to Parappa. He took it and pressed the power button. He browsed the insipid soap operas, cheesy sitcoms and platitudinous documentaries until he found something that seemed urgent. A news report on the local weather was on. It was Action News Weather, presented by Manuel Lorraine.

"...cold front moving into Anime County and Sony County, while heavy precipitation is expected for the next few hours in major cities in and around Roddington, PlayStationopolis and Parappa Town. Flood watches have been placed in Roddington and Playstationopolis, with nothing for Parappa Town but high winds estimated at twenty to thirty miles an hour, which will be occurring for the upcoming-"

_CRACK! BOOM!_

All of the lights and the TV cut out, leaving them in an almost total darkness. It was 7:42 when either of them last checked the time on the television, so there was still much daylight to be had left in the day. The sunlight permeating the overhead clouds also gave slight illumination inside his house.

Parappa didn't realize this, but he had his arms held tightly around Sunny's body as soon as the thunder sounded. He also shuddered in the event. Sunny noticed this and blushed. "Wow, you're feeling affectionate all of a sudden."

When she said this, he then knew what he was doing. He blushed as well. "Sorry..." he said sheepishly.

Sunny giggled again. "It's fine. Are you afraid of the dark? Thunder? Both?" she asked.

"I never could get over thunder, not after, uh, what happened..."

Sunny became concerned. "What happened?"

"Well, you already know I wasn't always in central Parappa Town all my life. I already told everybody about my roots in North Parappa Town, the nasty, felonious place that it was. And, then, we moved. That's the gist of everything I told the other guys, but I didn't give everyone the full picture as to why my dad left. Of course, one of the reasons is that you were in danger of being shot for no reason in the north side, but there was something more than that." Parappa closed his eyes as he remembered what had happened in that fateful day in the ghetto. The sight of the event occurring in his mind almost made him cry. He did, however, sniffle a few times.

Sunny wrapped her arms around Parappa in sympathy, even though she had no idea what was the matter. Regardless, she knew that it was a cause of sadness and misery toward her lover.

Parappa opened his eyes, almost moist, to look in Sunny's eyes. "While we were living in the north side, my dad was accused of drug dealing and murder. The cops were about to take him away, when my mother insisted that they take her instead. Her reason for this was that Dad was the inventor of the family, and is still inventing things today, so she wanted him to be alive so that he could make the world better with his inventions. So, the cops actually did take her instead, and soon after, Dad moved from the north side to here. I didn't realize this until this last school year, but a few months after she was captured, she was...*sniffle*...executed for false charges. For the last ten years, however, Dad told me that he divorced with Mom and I couldn't visit her because she was constantly working and on business trips. Soon, I found out that Mom was killed when I randomly searched through Dad's room to get something for recording. I asked him about it and he spilled the beans. And the reason why he lied about it to me was that...*sniffle*...he knew how much I loved Mom and how much she loved me, that he wasn't ready to tell me the truth about what happened to her..." Parappa now felt a tear run down his face. _Points for overbearing masculinity,_ he thought.

Sunny became teary-eyed as well. She never thought that someone so optimistic, so chipper, so sprightly the majority of a time would have such a legit reason to be sad instead. And the fact that his mom was really innocent when she was killed and insisted that she become incarcerated instead of her husband was even more of a tear-jerker.

"I'm sorry this happened, Parappa. I never could think that this occurred...And you've never really shown any signs that something like this took place..." she said tearfully. She tenderly rocked Parappa to cheer him up, in the same style that a mother would do to her child.

"Well, look at me now. I'm practically sniveling just by thinking about it. And you know I'm not one to cry in front of all my friends no matter what the circumstance. I'm supposed to be the guy who people look to in order to cheer them up. I guess I would have failed at that if I went into much detail of the event..."

Sunny just remembered two things. One, she was still wearing Parappa's beanie. Two, the original question that brought this subject up was why Parappa was still scared of thunder.

_CLAP!_

Parappa clutched Sunny tighter momentarily when another thunderclap sounded. This time, Sunny reciprocated and held the rapdog closer to her. Against his better judgment, Parappa further described what happened when his mom was taken away.

"It was about one in the morning, me peacefully asleep in my almost fallen-apart bed. It was storming, thunder being heard every few seconds. Earlier that night, my mom was telling me not to worry about the thunder, because back then, I had a phobia of thunder as well, and she told me that she would be there for me if I ever felt afraid. It was THAT. SAME. NIGHT. I fell asleep with her sitting beside me, not minding the thunder as much. I had gotten used to the sound of gunshots in my neighborhood that when another one sounded that night, I didn't pay too much attention. But, I heard the sound of an irate voice, multiple gunshots, the door knocking loud and thunder all within five seconds. This combination was enough to wake me up in the morning. As they were taking Mom away, one of the cops looked directly at me, and his face was lit up by nearby lightning, and of course, thunder sounded. This left a scar in my mind that I couldn't shake out. And, what was worse was that Mom said that she would always be there for me whenever I felt afraid. And then, she was gone for good...*sniffle* I still miss her..."

Parappa wasn't full-on sobbing, but instead sniffling periodically while his face was almost covered in tears. Sunny's tears fell in a slower rate than Parappa's, but she could almost feel the exact degree of sadness that this event caused him. She continued to gently rock him back in forth, causing the rapdog to lay his head on her shoulder. She then mildly caressed Parappa's side in an attempt of consolation. "I will be here for you, Parappa, this I swear," she acknowledged delicately.

The power never came back on for the rest of the evening, so this left them alone with each other without any further distractions. When both of them got tired that night, they just decided to sleep on the couch, sitting with one another and cuddling their lover. Sunny fell asleep to the sound of rain falling and the transformation of Parappa's sniffling into steady, controlled breathing, giving her a warm feeling inside her chest.


End file.
